Malaria Diet

Diet for Malaria:

Diet is of utmost importance in the treatment of malaria. To begin with, the patient should fast on orange juice and water for 5 to 10 days, depending on the severity of the fever. The warm-water enema should be administered daily during this period to cleanse the bowels.

After the fever has subsided, the patient should be placed on an exclusive fruit diet for further three days in this regimen,. He should take three meals a day, at five hourly intervals of fresh, juicy fruits like orange, grapes, grapefruit, apple, pineapple, mango and papaya.


Milk may be added to the fruit-diet after this period and this dietary may be continued for further few days. Thereafter, the patient may gradually embark upon a well-balanced diet of natural foods, consisting of seeds, nuts and grains, vegetables and fruits, with emphasis on fresh fruits and raw vegetables.

The patient should avoid strong tea, coffee, refined and processed foods, fried foods, condiments, sauces, pickles, white sugar, white flour, and all products made from them.


He should also avoid all meats alcoholic drinks and Smoking.

Home Remedies for Malaria:

Certain home remedies have been found beneficial in the treatment of malaria. One such remedy is the use of grapefruit (chakotra).


This fruit contains natural quinine. This substance can be extracted from the fruits by boiling " quarter of the grapefruit and straining its pulp.

Lime and lemon are beneficial in the treatment of quarten type of malaria fever.


About three grams of lime should be dissolved in about 60 ml. Of water and juice of one lemon added to it. This water should be taken before the onset of the fever.

Cinnamon (Cinnamon) is regarded as an effective cure for all types of colds, including malaria. It should be coarsely powdered and boiled in a glass of water with a pinch of popper powder and honey. This can be used beneficially as a medicine in malaria.

Remedies for Malaria:

The best way to reduce temperature naturally, during the course of the fever, is by means of the cold pack, which can be applied to the whole body. This pack is made by wringing out a sheet or other large square piece of linen material in cold water, wrapping it right round the body and legs of the patient and then covering completely will a small blanket or similar warm material. This pack should be applied every three hours during the day while temperature is high and kept on for an hour or so. Hot¬ water bottles may be applied to the feet and also against the sides of the body A cold pack may also be applied to the throat.

Prevention of Malaria:

The preventive aspect in malaria is as important' as the curative one. The best way to protect against malaria is to adopt all measures necessary for preventing mosquito bites. For this purpose, it is essential to maintain cleanliness of surroundings, environmental hygiene and to eradicate stretches of stagnant water. As the mosquito generally perches itself on the walls of the house after biting a person, it would be advisable to spray the walls with insecticides.

The leaves of holy basil (holi basil) are considered beneficial in the prevention of malaria. An infusion of some leaves can be taken daily for this purpose. The juice of about 11 grams of holi basil leaves, mixed with three grams of powder of black pepper, can be taken beneficially in the cold stage of the malaria fever. This will check the severity of the disease.

TREATMENT CHART FOR MALARIA

A - DIET

I. A fast on orange juice for 5 to 10 days. During this period, take orange juice diluted with water every two hours during the day and cleans the bowels daily with warm water enema.

II. All-fruit diet for further three days, with three meals a day of fresh juicy fruits at five-hourly intervals.

III. Thereafter, adopt the following diet: -

1. Upon arising: A glass of lukewarm water mixed with half a freshly squeezed lime and a teaspoon of honey.

2. Breakfast: Fresh fruits and a cup of milk sweetened with honey.

3. Lunch: A bowl of steamed vegetables, whole wheat wheat tortilla and buttermilk.

4. Mid afternoon: A glass of fresh fruit or vegetable juice.

5. Dinner: A bowl of fresh green vegetable salad, with limejuice dressing, sprouted seeds and home-made cottage cheese.

Avoid: Flesh foods, sugar, white flour, products made from them, tea, coffee, condiments and pickles.

B - OTHER MEASURES

1. Application of cold pack to the whole body to reduce temperature. Cold pack may also be applied to the throat.

2. Maintenance of cleanliness of surroundings, environ¬mental hygiene and eradication of stretches of stagnant water to prevent mosquitoes.

Malaria Nutrition

Malaria is known to be one of the deadliest conditions in the world with as many as millions of people dying from the condition ever year. The condition is primarily mosquito spread condition that is triggered by a parasite known as plasmodium that attacks the red blood cells. Some of the most prominent malaria symptoms include a sudden attack of chills, recurring fever, sweating and pain. Recent surveys have shown that as many as about 2 million deaths are caused every year by malaria, with the most common targets being children under the age of five as well as pregnant women. The condition is known to be more common in the underdeveloped countries because of the restricted access to medication and treatment.

Falciparum is the strain of malaria that is considered to be more deadly and can even lead to further complications such as bleeding problems, shock, liver or kidney failure. Because of the fact that malaria has a substantial incubation period, most people will not know that they are infected until the condition has fully developed. The infection can take as much as between 7 and 21 days to establish its presence in the bloodstream. However, by this time the treatment options are more concerned with reducing the impact and presence of the symptoms that the condition causes.

The best treatment of malaria is through a well planned diet for malaria. The better diets for malaria ensure that the body is not exposed to foods that will cause an additional amount of stress to an already unhealthy liver and kidneys. When affected by malaria, nutrition for the body is essential in treating the condition. For the first 5 days of a diet for malaria, the patient should be made to drink nothing but orange juice and water – depending largely on the intensity of the fever, this period may need to be extended.

A daily warm water enema will help clean the bowels as well. Once the fever has withdrawn, the patient should be administered an exclusively fruit diet for about three days, spread over three meals at intervals of five hours each. Fruits that have high juice content such as oranges, apples, pineapples, and grapes are most highly recommended. When treating the condition a diet for malaria symptoms could also include milk as it provides proteins and fats and also treats malaria by providing nutrition too the body. However, intake of substances like coffee, alcohol or tea should be held off for much longer and allow the kidneys and liver time to recover properly.

Malaria Symptoms 

Malaria is primarily a mosquito borne infectious disease that is rather common all over the world – even more so in developing countries where the access to required medication is not as easy as it is in most developed countries. Studies have shown that malaria causes more than about 250 million deaths worldwide, of which the majority appears to be young children in the sub Sahara Africa. Although there are about 5 different forms of malaria, the one that is considered to be most dangerous to humans is the viruses Plasmodium falciparum. The other strains of malaria; namely Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale and Plasmodium  malariae are known to cause milder forms of the disease in humans and are rarely ever fatal. The fifth train of the malaria virus is the Plasmodium knowlesi – which is known to more often affect macaques, but can also affect humans from time to time.

The chain of malaria spreading is part of the chain of the mosquito’s feeding habits. To elaborate, the first part of the cycle will start with a female mosquito feeding on an infected individual’s blood.  As a result, some amount of the infection is taken and develops within the mosquito within a week. When the mosquito takes its next blood meal, the same parasites are then injected into the new host – thereby infecting this individual. The malaria symptoms are only likely to become prominent after an incubation period of anywhere between a few weeks and a couple of months. Some of the more common symptoms of the condition include a flulike illness and fever, diarrhea, cough, cold, nausea and vomiting. Individuals suffering from the more serious falciparum strain of virus are likely to also experience bouts of bleeding problems, shock, liver and kidney failure as well as cerebral malaria – where suffering from a coma, seizures or even an altered mental status are likely outcomes. It must be duly noted that even with intense falciparum malaria treatment, 15% to 20% of all patients die. Chronic cases of malaria are seen in both the vivax and ovale strains of the virus but not in falciparum. In these cases, there is always the chance that a relapse of the condition can occur in a matter of weeks as well as years after exposure.

Proper malaria prevention is highly recommended when travelling out of the country – especially in the event that you are travelling to a developing nation. Because of the fact that malaria tests are not routinely ordered by one’s medical fraternity, it is of prime importance to keep a track of one’s travel history. One of the biggest complications of proper diagnosis, however, is the fact that there are a number of other conditions that also mimic the symptoms of malaria. These conditions include typhoid fever, cholera, measles and tuberculosis.  As a result, it is also important for the doctors to order the correct special tests in order to diagnose the condition, especially in developed countries – where the condition is rarely seen as a result of proper and widespread vaccination. The most commonly used diagnostic test for malaria is through a microscope analysis of a blood smear in which the analyst will see parasites inside the red blood cells. While the test is always going to show up the right results, it is important to understand that proper diagnosis also heavily depends on the skill of the analyzing technician as there have been a number of cases in which an untrained eye has not noticed the presence of the infection although it has clearly showed up on the analysis.

Home remedies for malaria will initially revolve around doing your best to make the patient feel comfortable.Given the fact that the chills and fever are very intense and regularly fluctuating, there is always a significant amount of discomfort affecting the patient. The weakness within the body that the condition causes will also leave the patient unable to perform a number of tasks on his or her own, requiring a companion to help with some of the simple tasks. Warmth is extremely important and ensures that you have turned off any fan or air conditioner blowing directly on the patient’s body. Moreover, because of the fact that malaria is rather common in environments of underdeveloped countries where easy access to western medicine is not prevalent, there are a number of home remedies that have been developed by locals to help fight the condition. These remedies have been used and perfected over a number of decades and are highly thought of in the areas in which they were thought up.  One of the most effective home remedies for malaria is to add a teaspoon of cinnamon powder as well as a teaspoon each of honey and pepper powder before boiling the concoction and having it after it cools down a bit. Another very effective option is to roast some alum over a hot plate and then powder it. Recommended usage will ask you to take a pinch of this powder when you develop the fever.

During the initial stages of malaria, a simple diet of orange juice and water will do wonders in the treatment of the condition. Lime and lemon are also highly regarded as being very effective ingredients when it comes to home remedies for malaria. One of the most widely used and effective home remedies is to dissolve about 3 grams of lime in about 60 ml of water and add the juice of a single lemon to the concoction. Drinking this juice just as you start to experience the fever come on will help significantly. There are also a number of malaria diets that will help you deal with the condition in a controlled manner, also ensuring that the chances or a relapse are minimized. Warm water enemas are also very helpful in cleansing the bowels during the entire initial period of the condition developing within the body. Ensuring that there is no stagnant water lying around will help prevent the breeding of mosquitoes and therefore – also prevent an outbreak of malaria.